George Clooney and girlfriend taken to hospital after motorbike crash

Last updated at 15:15 22 September 2007

George Clooney has broken his rib after his motorbike collided with a car on a road near New York.

Clooney and his passenger, girlfriend Sarah Larson, were both taken to hospital after the incident on a narrow road in New Jersey, across the Hudson river from New York City. They have both now been released.

Miss Larson, 28, recently texted her boss to resign from her job as a waitress so she could travel the world with Clooney. She suffered a broken foot in the crash, which happened at 3.30pm in the afternoon.

Clooney's spokesman Stan Rosenfield said: "He's doing fine. He has a broken rib, it's very painful and it'll take a long time to heal."

Clooney and Miss Larson, who were both wearing helmets, were travelling north and sped up to pass on the right a car that was preparing to make a right turn, police sergeant Sean Kelly said.

He added: "It's a he-said, she-said right now, but you can't pass on the right in Weehawken or anywhere in Jersey."

Mr Rosenfield claimed the collision happened when the car's driver signalled a left-hand turn, but actually turned right and hit the motorcycle.

"The car signalled left. George was riding to the right. The driver decided to make an abrupt right turn and clipped George," he added.

Clooney, 46, is currently filming Burn After Reading, which also stars Brad Pitt and John Malkovich.

However, the accident is not expected to interrupt the filming schedule.